Civil liberties would be better protected under a change made to legislation to codify Bush's anti-terror domestic spying program, a chief backer of the effort said on Monday. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, said the bill had been revised to require that electronic surveillance of telephone calls that originate in the United States be subjected to individual court warrants.Administration aides said individual warrants would eventually be used, but only when practical.With Republicans and Democrats bickering about who can best defend America, Specter told the National Press Club he hopes Congress will pass the bill before lawmakers head home at the end of this week to campaign for the November 7 congressional elections.... http://news.yahoo.com

Flu shots can't cause the flu. But this is perhaps the most persistent of the myths about flu vaccine, experts say. The viruses in flu shots are dead. In the nasal spray vaccine FluMist, they're live, but weakened and unable to grow in the lungs and cause illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends flu vaccine for more than 238 million of the USA's 300 million citizens, including children 6 months to 5 years old; pregnant women; people age 50 or older; and anyone with a chronic medical condition such as asthma or diabetes. It is also recommended for health care workers and people who live with anyone in those risk groups. After getting a flu vaccine, many people experience symptoms such as a runny nose or achiness for a day or so. That means the immune system is responding, and it's a good sign, says Neil Schachter, a lung specialist at Mount Sinai Medical Center, and author of The Good Doctor's Guide to Colds & Flu (Collins, $14.95). "It means your ...http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-09-25-flu-myths_x.htm?csp=34

National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said Monday the jihad in Iraq is shaping a new generation of terrorist operatives, but rejected assertions, stemming from a leaked intelligence estimate, that the United States is at a greater risk of attack than it was in 2001. "We are certainly more vigilant. We are better prepared," Negroponte said. "We are safer." Negroponte's words came at a dinner at Washington's Woodrow Wilson Center after the weekend disclosure of a high-level National Intelligence Estimate. The document gave new fervor to an election-year debate about how the Iraq war has affected national security threats. “We are safer” did you take that to mean you? Government and selected Elite have all Bunkered themselves in, and that is what he meant by the “we.” Notice they didn’t build you a Bunker, in fact, you are the cannon fodder that the people they made enemies of will have to go through first, and that makes them saver. Or so they hope...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15004211/

Paul Volcker, who halted a wage and price spiral as Federal Reserve chairman between 1979 and 1987, warned that U.S. inflation rates are ``creeping up'' and pose a danger to the overall economy. ``I am a little bit more worried about inflation,'' said Volcker, 79, speaking at a discussion sponsored by the Women's Economic Round Table in New York today. Gerald Corrigan, who served as New York Fed president from 1985 to 1993, said he shared Volcker's concerns. While the inflation rate isn't ``high'' or ``running away,'' Volcker said, ``it is kind of creeping up, and I am impressed by the degree of pressure, if that is the right word, psychological pressure, political pressure, there is not to do anything about it.'' Volcker's comments come as the Fed under Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, 52, has held interest rates steady at the past two meetings after previously raising rates 17 consecutive times to contain price pressures. ...http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aYnJF7iLrZn8&refer=worldwide_news

A private US space rocket which blasted off from a site in New Mexico malfunctioned before it reached space, organisers have said. SpaceLoft XL launched at 1414 local time (2014 GMT) from Spaceport America, a desert launch site. But it veered off course at an altitude of about 12,190m (40,000ft) and crash-landed in the desert. The rocket was due to carry about 50 items into orbit, including cremated remains and school science projects. The reason for the failure of Monday's launch is unclear. Launch co-ordinator Tracey Larson told AP news agency it was possible that the rocket and its payload could have survived the crash. SpaceLoft XL is built by UP Aerospace, one of several private firms vying to open up cheaper public access to space. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5377958.stm

Beijing municipal authorities have shut down more than 50 schools for the children of migrant workers during the past two weeks in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, a U.S.-based human rights watchdog said on Monday.Human Rights Watch said the closures were part of a campaign to close all unregistered schools for migrants by the end of September and threatened to leave tens of thousands of children without access to education. The campaign appears designed to discourage migrants from staying in the capital, the group said. In mid-September, city officials discussed expelling a million migrant laborers from Beijing for the duration of the Olympics, it said. "Beijing is spending over $5 billion to prepare for the 2008 Games, yet at the same time it's denying a basic right to migrant workers' children, most of whom are unable to access state-run schools,"...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2490416